NEW YORK (Monday, April 27, 2026) – San Jose Earthquakes forward Timo Werner was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA for Matchday 10 of the 2026 MLS season.
Werner had two goals and an assist to lead the San Jose Earthquakes to a 3-2 road win at St. Louis CITY SC and helped the club to the best start in MLS history in the post-shootout era (Watch Highlights From His Performance Here). Werner has at least one goal and one assist in his last three matches, which is the first time this has happened in Earthquakes history. Since joining San Jose in the Primary Transfer Window, Werner has four goals and five assists in just 455 minutes of regular-season action. Among players with at least nine goal contributions this season, only Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge (440) has played in fewer minutes than Werner. With the victory, the Earthquakes became the first team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to win nine of their first 10 games to begin a season. They also became the second team in the post-shootout era to win each of their first five road games to begin a season, joining Red Bull New York in 2022.
San Jose took the lead in the eighth minute when Werner poked a pass to Nick Fernandez who found Preston Judd for a composed finish (Watch Here). After St. Louis scored consecutive goals in the second half, Werner equalized from the penalty spot with an emphatic finish to tie the match 2-2 in the 69th minute (Watch Here). With the match winding down, the German striker secured all three points with a perfect one-timed volley on the counterattack with seven minutes remaining (Watch Here).
This is the first time Werner has been named MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA and he is the first Quakes player to earn the honor since Josef MartÃnez on Matchday 7 in 2025. Werner is the third different German National Team player to win the award since the start of last season, joining Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s Thomas Müller (Matchday 33 in 2025) and the LA Galaxy’s Marco Reus (Matchday 14 of 2025).
San Jose returns to action in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 against Minnesota United FC on Tuesday night (10 p.m. ET) before traveling to Toronto FC for MLS regular-season action on Saturday, May 2 (1 p.m. ET, MLS on Apple TV).
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
|
